KENOSHA, Wis. -- The No. 9-ranked North Park Men's Soccer team was on their way to a win over the Carthage Firebirds in Kenosha before an 85th-minute goal played spoiler to a College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) title on Wednesday evening.
North Park and Carthage traded a pair of shots in the first two minutes of the game, both off frame, before the first shot that threatened was off the foot of the Firebirds' Aidan Crowder, smothered by North Park freshman goalkeeper Ludvig Almborg.
The next shot on target would be a pivotal one. In the 10th minute, junior defender Hugo Neborg played a pass back to freshman defender Dennis Rinne. Rinne would head a shot over the Carthage keeper before it bounced once and landed just inside the right post for an early 1-0 advantage.
Through the rest of the game, aside from a few breakaway chances, North Park would go on the defensive to retain this advantage, packing the box while clearing any dangerous passes.
Almborg had his work cut out for him, making some big-time saves to try and preserve that lead.
However, that also allowed a high-paced Carthage team to gain 11 corner kick chances, including eight in the second half.
Unfortunately, the Firebirds would drive the equalizer in the 85th minute with Jordan Mok's effort in the box allowing Crowder to clean up with his eighth goal of the season.
What's Next?
North Park concludes the regular season with a 12-1-5 overall record and 5-1-2 mark in CCIW play. The Vikings finish second in the CCIW race with renewed motivation going into the CCIW Tournament. They await the winner of six seed Illinois Wesleyan who play at three seed Carroll University this coming Saturday, Nov. 2. The Vikings host the semifinals match at Holmgren next Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 7:00 PM CT.
